John's Blog

Back in the day, before TV weather was delivered by either the cliched jovial fat guy or the buff blow-dried himbo/babe, another formula was present. In local markets on the east coast, many TV stations had their weather segment sponsored by Atlantic Gas, and they delivered the forecast dressed in the uniform of a gas station attendant. For many people, this may require some explanation, since long ago before "Self-Serve" became the norm, the term "service station" was used. It meant that neatly uniformed employees would actually fill the tank, clean the windshield, check the oil, and probably throw in a gift. All this, and at under $1 a gallon. Given the current price of gas, is it any wonder that I'd wax nostalgic?

For some odd reason, I've always had fond memories of The Atlantic Weatherman, but until I this clip I had discovered little on the net to document the phenomena. Unfortunately, this isn't the one I remember, but the production values are the same. An interesting look back at how things used to be before computer generated graphics hit the scene. The odd thing is that I lived in the TV market where this broadcast took place, but never watched this station at the time. Had I learned at a tender age that there was more than one Atlantic weatherman it would have been akin to the discovery that there isn't a Santa Claus.

Since I've been known to obsess about Gas related nostalgia, this seems like the perfect time for a gasoline related link-dump:

Gasoline Signs
Vintage Gas Museum
Old and Interesting Gas Stations
Whatever Happened to Standard Oil?
Roadside Architecture: Gas Stations
Save The 76 Ball
Gas station designs from the 20s, 30s, 40s and 50s
The Frank Lloyd Wright Gas Station Page
Fake Russian Gas Stations

Tags: TV, advertising, pop-culture, videos, you tube, gas, gas stations